U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy addressed a capacity crowd Oct. 15 at GW’s Dorothy Betts Theatre for the opening event of the two-day George Washington Law Review Symposium. The keynote address, focusing on judicial review, set the stage for a series of panel discussions on the topic by distinguished scholars from across the nation.
The seventh Supreme Court justice to visit GW in recent years, Justice Kennedy offered wide-ranging insights on the history and importance of judicial review. Appointed to the court by President Ronald Reagan in 1988, he is a swing voter who has played a key role in a number of decisions evaluating the constitutionality of statutes.
Justice Kennedy emphasized that it is vital for all Americans to understand the Constitution. “The Constitution doesn’t belong to a bunch of lawyers and judges,” he said. “It belongs to the people. Americans come from many backgrounds, ethnicities and religions, but the one thing we all have in common is the Constitution. And it’s immensely important to our heritage that our people know and understand the Constitution, because you cannot defend what you do not know.”
In his welcoming remarks, GW Law Dean Frederick M. Lawrence underscored the Law School’s close and longstanding relationship with the Supreme Court. “We’ve been connected to the court for well over a century,” he said. The dean pointed out that three former clerks of Justice Kennedy are now members of the Law School’s full-time faculty—Associate Dean Gregory Maggs, Professor Orin Kerr and Associate Professor Renee Lettow Lerner, who introduced the justice at the event.
A former constitutional law professor, Justice Kennedy congratulated GW law students on attending a “splendid” school. “I’m thrilled that people of your talent and commitment are in law school and hope that many of you go on to practice law,” he said.